John Ward Knox is an artist living and working in Auckland, New Zealand. He is a founding member and co-director of Newcall Gallery - an artist-run studio collective and gallery.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

they synth ballet

Equal to the love you make.

J. I’ve never been to a ballet, but Ritchie has, and he says it’s like break-dancing, but more beautiful, and less intense. I think that all movement is just controlled falling, and to me ballet feels like it’s trying to trick us into ignoring this. Ballet is like trying to pretend that we don’t have a human form, and instead can embody some ethereal quality, like the wind, or a bird, or love. But maybe that’s interpretive dance, I don’t know, I’ve not been to an interpretive dance either.

R. It was nothing spectacular, a rehearsal, no costumes and noticeable mistakes. They wore a used off-white that softened the contours of their flesh, making their bodies uniform. With little expectations, I remember a motion where the appearance of lightness proved seamless a line of taut, precise steps. It is no longer a performance for an elite. An elite may attain superior seating but rest assured this kind of play is on the streets and dance floors. All things are in motion. The most loaded and weighted of materials are put to use here un-apologetically. If you want ballet you will need to dance.